The Maine National Guard completed its security mission in the nation’s capitol with the return of its second group of soldiers on Sunday, March 14, 2021.

“Maine’s soldiers represented their state well, working diligently around the clock, providing roving and static patrols around the capitol,” said Captain Garrett Clark, commander of Waterville’s 488th Military Police company and officer in-charge for the group.  “Seventy-six soldiers from eight different units and the state joined 20-plus states on this unprecedented mission and they  are eager to return to their families and friends.”

“We are immensely grateful not only to our soldiers, but to their families and employers as well,” said Maj. General Douglas Farnham, Maine’s  adjutant general.  “Between supporting the COVID response here at home, assisting in Washington, D.C.  and deploying soldiers and airmen overseas, our men and women are hard at work.”

The Maine National Guard responded twice to requests for assistance in Washington.  the first wave of approximately 200 soldiers departed January 16, 2021 and returned on January 26, 2021.  The second group departed January 26 and combined with about a dozen solders from the first group who volunteered o remain on duty, continued to provide security in Washington until this past weekend.

The unit was returned home on KC-136 aircraft from the 101st Air Refueling Wing based in Bangor.